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The painted Tomb -Chapel of Nebamun Masterpiece of the ancient egyptian art in the British museum

Today I received an interesting book from an English friend about
The painted Tomb -Chapel of Nebamun . Masterpiece of the ancient egyptian art in the British museum
the book is written by Richard Parkinson
Richard Parkinson discusses the history of paintings from the ancient to the modern times .with a detailed description of these fragments from the tomb .www.egyptraveluxe.com

the tomb was found in 1820 by Giovanni d’Athanasi . and quickly removed various scenes from the mud-plaster walls. Eleven of these were acquired by the British Museum, and have become some of the most familiar works of Egyptian art The tomb-chapel was in the northern part of the Theban necropolis, but the precise location remains unknown. Various strands of evidence suggest that it was probably in the area of the current Spanish–Egyptian excavations at Dra Abu el-Naga. The tomb commemorated Nebamun, a grain accountant of the Temple of Amun, who probably worked late in the reign of Amenhotep III, and the damage and restoration to some scenes shows that the tomb must have remained open until after the Amarna Period.

The fragments from the wall painting in the tomb-chapel of
Nebamun are keenly observed vignettes of Nebamun and his family enjoying
both work and play. Some concern the provision of the funerary cult
that was celebrated in the tomb-chapel, some show scenes of Nebamun’s
life as an elite official, and others show him and his family enjoying
life for all eternity, as in the famous scene of the family hunting in
the marshes. Together they decorated the small tomb-chapel with vibrant
and engaging images of an elite lifestyle that Nebamun hoped would
continue in the afterlife.

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Nebamun is shown hunting birds, in a small boat with his wife
Hatshepsut and their young daughter, in the marshes of the Nile. Such
scenes had already been traditional parts of tomb-chapel decoration for
hundreds of years and show the dead tomb-owner "enjoying himself and
seeing beauty," as the hieroglyphic caption here says.

This is more than a simple image of recreation. Fertile marshes were
seen as a place of rebirth and eroticism. Hunting animals could
represent Nebamun’s triumph over the forces of nature as he was reborn.
The huge striding figure of Nebamun dominates, forever happy and forever
young, surrounded by the rich and varied life of the marsh.

There was originally another half of the scene, which showed Nebamun
spearing fish. This half of the wall is lost, apart from two old
photographs of small fragments of Nebamun and his young son. The
painters have captured the scaly and shiny quality of the fish.

Cat catching birds in the papyrus clump (detail), Fowling in the Marshes,

A
tawny cat catches birds among the papyrus stems. Cats were family pets,
but he is shown here because a cat could also represent the Sun-god
hunting the enemies of light and order. His unusual gilded eye hints at
the religious meanings of this scene.

The artists have filled every space with lively details. The marsh is
full of lotus flowers and Plain Tiger butterflies. They are freely and
delicately painted, suggesting the pattern and texture of their wings.

Nebamun’s garden in the
afterlife is not unlike the earthly gardens of wealthy Egyptians. The
pool is full of birds and fish, and surrounded by borders of flowers and
shady rows of trees. The fruit trees include sycomore-figs, date-palms
and dom-palms—the dates are shown with different degrees of ripeness.

On the right of the pool a goddess leans out of a tree and offers
fruit and drinks to Nebamun (now lost). The artists accidentally painted
her skin red at first but then repainted it yellow, the correct color
for a goddess’ skin. On the left, a sycomore-fig tree speaks and greets
Nebamun as the owner of the garden, its words are recorded in the
hieroglyphs.

The pool is shown from
above, with three rows of trees arranged around its edges. The waves of
the pool were painted with a darker blue pigment; much of this has been
lost, like the green on the trees and bushes.

Nebamun was the accountant in charge of grain at the great Temple of
Amun at Karnak. This scene from his tomb-chapel shows officials
inspecting fields. A farmer checks the boundary marker of the field.

Old man assessing crops

Nearby,
two chariots for the party of officials wait under the shade of a
sycomore-fig tree. Other smaller fragments from this wall are now in the
Egyptian Museum in Berlin, Germany and show the grain being harvested
and processed.

The old farmer is shown balding, badly shaven, poorly dressed, and
with a protruding navel. He is taking an oath saying: "As the Great God
who is in the sky endures, the boundary-stone is exact!"

"The Chief of the Measurers of the Granary," (mostly lost) holds a
rope decorated with the head of Amun’s sacred ram for measuring the
god’s fields. After Nebamun died, the rope’s head was hacked out, but
later, perhaps in Tutankhamun’s reign, someone clumsily restored it with
mud-plaster and redrew it.www.egyptraveluxe.com
Nebamun's cattle

Nebamun's cattle

This fragment is part of a wall showing Nebamun inspecting flocks of
geese and herds of cattle. Hieroglyphs describe the scene and record
what the farmers say as they squabble in the queue. The alternating
colors and patterns of cattle create a superb sense of animal movement.

Come on! Get away! Don’t speak in the presence of the praised one! He
detests people talking …. Pass on in quiet and in order … He knows all
affairs, does the scribe and counter of grain of [Amun], Neb[amun].

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The name of the god Amun has been hacked out in this caption where it
appears in Nebamun’s name and title. Shortly after Nebamun died, King
Akhenaten (1352–1336 B.C.E.) had Amun’s name erased from monuments as
part of his religious reforms.

Nebamun's geese

Nebamun's geese,

This
scene is part of a wall showing Nebamun inspecting flocks of geese and
herds of cattle. He watches as farmers drive the animals towards him;
his scribes (secretaries) write down the number of animals for his
records. Hieroglyphs describe the scene and record what the farmers say
as they squabble in the queue.

Farmers bow down and make gestures of respect towards Nebamun. The
man behind them holds a stick and tells them: "Sit down and don’t
speak!" The farmers’ geese are painted as a huge and lively gaggle, some
pecking the ground and some flapping their wings.

An entire wall of the tomb-chapel
showed a feast in honor of Nebamun. Naked serving-girls and servants
wait on his friends and relatives. Married guests sit in pairs on fine
chairs, while the young women turn and talk to each other. This erotic
scene of relaxation and wealth­ is something for Nebamun to enjoy for
all eternity. The richly-dressed guests are entertained by dancers and
musicians, who sit on the ground playing and clapping. The words of
their song in honor of Nebamun are written above them:www.egyptraveluxe.com

The earth-god has caused
his beauty to grow in every body...
the channels are filled with water anew,
and the land is flooded with love of him.

Some of the musicians look out of the paintings, showing their
faces full-on. This is very unusual in Egyptian art, and gives a sense
of liveliness to these lower-class women, who are less formally drawn
than the wealthy guests. The young dancers are sinuously drawn and are
naked apart from their jewelry.

Musicians and dancers

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A rack of large wine jars is decorated with grapes, vines and
garlands of flowers. Many of the guests also wear garlands and smell
lotus flowers. All the guests wear elaborate linen clothes. The artists
have painted the cloth as if it were transparent, to show that it is
very fine. These elegant sensual dresses fall in loose folds around the
guests’ bodies.

Men and women’s skins are painted in different colors: the men are
tanned and the women are paler. In one place the artists altered the
drawing of these wooden stools and corrected their first sketch with
white paint.

Servant's bringing offerings

Servants bringing offeringsEstate worker bringing a hare from the fields

www.egyptraveluxe.comA
procession of simply-dressed servants bring offerings of food to
Nebamun, including sheaves of grain and animals from the desert.
Tomb-chapels were built so that people could come and make offerings in
memory of the dead, and this a common scene on their walls. The border
at the bottom shows that this scene was the lowest one on this wall.

One servant holds two desert hares by their ears. The animals have
wonderfully textured fur and long whiskers. The superb draughtsmanship
and composition make this standard scene very fresh and lively.

The artists have even varied the servants’ simple clothes. The folds
of each kilt are different. With one of these kilts, the artist changed
his mind and painted a different set of folds over his first version,
which is visible through the white paint.
Enjoy a special day tour to the newly opened Nobels Tombs in Thebes "Luxor" Egypt Here

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